Emma Raducanu breezed past Shelby Rogers in two sets to reach the second round of the Australian Open – but it wasn’t all plain sailing thanks to a rogue runaway insect.
The 21-year-old got her 2024 Grand Slam campaign off to a flyer with the 6-3, 6-2 win over her American counterpart in just 76 minutes.
But a small hitch arrived in the second set in the form of a streetwise Australian critter, which scurried and hopped around the court for around a minute before eventually being apprehended.
Play stopped and Raducanu watched as a ball kid chased the audacious intruder.
The cunning creature would wait for the girl to approach it before bopping away at just the right time to evade capture, but eventually its luck ran out.
Emma Raducanu’s first-round clash against Shelby Rogers was briefly stopped due to a bug
A ball girl eventually managed to capture the bold intruder and carry it to safety off court
After winning the game of cat and mouse, the ball kid swaddled the critter in a towel before carrying it to safety off court.
It is unlikely that the bug will face punitive action for the court invasion despite taking a free front-row seat ahead of paying spectators.
As for Raducanu, the draw has opened up for her somewhat as she will now face world number 94 Yafan Wang of China, who upset her opponent, number 22 seed Sorana Cirstea.
Playing her first Slam since this event last year, Raducanu needed to be solid against Rogers, who has not played since Wimbledon and made the sort of errors one might expect after such a long time out.
Raducanu benefitted from the American’s 35 unforced errors but served well towards the end and never looked in danger.
More to follow.
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